Social selling or how to boost sales through social networks

It is known as social selling for sale using social networks. These have become the best tool to connect brand and consumers. How to make the most of them?

The relationship between social selling and increased sales

Social networks were born with the intention of connecting people, wherever they were. This quality has been taken advantage of by companies to better reach consumers. Now, this approach is not done in any way, but by carrying out a strategy known as
social listening
. As in the physical market, there is a lot of competition and it is necessary to show the differential value to the client to capture their attention in front of others.

Boosting sales using social networks is an attractive goal, but how to achieve it?

The importance of content

To attract the interest of customers on social networks, you must provide content that entertains, educates or arouses their curiosity. That is, advertisements such as “Buy such a product…” do not work.

Most people use these platforms in their spare time. Therefore, the content you consume is one that entertains or amuses you, that makes you disconnect or add value. So how do you promote a product without being too aggressive? Contests and giveaways are examples of actions where the consumer will be tempted to participate. In addition, they are publications very given to be shared among users, generating a multiplier effect of the campaign at zero cost.

Create excitement on social networks

Publishing a contest or a raffle, even the launch of a product, will have much more force if you start creating expectation a few days before. It is not about giving false information or deceiving anyone, it simply consists of maintaining the mystery by giving some brushstrokes of what is going to be presented. For example, some ideas are the sector or public to which it is addressed, the need it will cover or the main objective it will fulfill.

Post customer reviews

Before making a comparison or hiring a service, most people look for opinions of other users on the Internet. This practice has such an impact that in some countries, including Spain, they are approving rules that guarantee the veracity of these reviews.

It is clear that customer reviews are as important as whether they are true. In social networks it is common for users to pour their opinions, so you have to do a good management of them. This means that negative reviews should not be ignored, or worse, counterattacked. Users will recognize when a brand is able to politely cope with negative reviews.

It’s also not beneficial not to let consumers post their opinions freely on social media. It can be interpreted as an attempt to hide something and this will generate a lot of rejection.

Sell directly through social platforms

As a result of the pandemic and the digitalization of businesses, the implementation of online stores began to spread. After the progressive closure of physical stores and the appearance of digital parts, many people have chosen to make the vast majority of their purchases through the Internet.

In fact, in 2020, social networks such as Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest updated their e-commerce tools, adding new functionalities. And as major social platforms have increased their investments in
social selling
solutions, companies are doing the same. The vast majority recognize that digital marketing and
ecommerce
are an increasing part of their income plan.

Social selling encompasses the entire customer journey, from choosing a product online to completing the purchase. For this trip to be successful and simple, the shopping experience must be fluid and the payment process simplified. This will make it more likely that that user will repeat in that place.

How to approach this strategy? Adding product and service catalogs to brands’ social profiles, integrations with prestigious e-commerce or doing the reverse process. That is, adding to web pages a direct access to social profiles.

Conversions and analysis of social selling

To better understand how the audience behaves and, in that way, increase sales, it is interesting to use data analysis tool. There are solutions on the market that are embedded in your own content, such as UTM parameters, which track user behavior. They also trace the route they make online until the purchase is finalized. The result can be a large amount of data, also known as KPIs, where the most relevant will be these.

• The organic ones: Participation rate, clicks, actions taken on the website, traffic, etc.
• Payment: Conversion rate, return on investment, cost per conversion, etc.

With all this information you can make a detailed analysis of how the audience is and what parts of a website or a social profile seem most interesting to them.

Social listening

Related to the above, it is worth reading and “listening” to what the audience says on social networks, their wants and needs. This allows brands to understand their customers, the industry and their competitors, offering insight into industry trends or the keys to successful campaigns.

In addition, there are tools that even measure the sentiment that a brand gives off from the words used by consumers. And there is nothing more powerful to sell than appealing to an emotion.

In short, social
selling
is a sales modality taking advantage of the pull of social networks. These platforms have become a meeting point for users from all over the world and not only that: they are poured, every second, millions of very precious data for brands that not only allow them to know their audience, but connect with it. And this connection translates into billing and sales.